Acupuncture Methods for Piriformis Syndrome: A Protocol for Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Piriformis syndrome (PS) is a common disease that is difficult to clinically treat, which seriously affects people’s health and living quality. Multiple clinical studies have demonstrated that acupuncture therapy is an effective treatment for PS, but the optimal method of various acupuncture methods has remained unknown. The aim of this study protocol is to compare the efficacy and the safety of different acupuncture methods for PS. METHODS: We will search seven electronic bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Chongqing VIP Database) from inception to June 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) will be selected for assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy on PS. Primary outcome measure for this study is pain intensity, and the secondary outcomes are clinical symptoms and signs, physical activity, effective rate, and adverse events. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment will be independently completed by at least two reviewers. Then, standard pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis will be conducted using Revman 5.3, Stata V.15.1 and OpenBUGS V.3.2.3. The heterogeneity will be explored by subgroup, meta-regression, and sensitivity analysis, if applicable. Finally, Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) pro system will be used to evaluate the quality of evidence. RESULTS: Our systematic review and network meta-analysis will identify the best acupuncture treatment method for PS patients. CONCLUSION: The results of our review will help decision-makers make educated choices regarding evidence-based acupuncture management options for PS. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: No. CRD42022335028.